Tinsley, of Maesbury Marsh, near Oswestry, told the court he now faces losing his business as the conviction means he will no longer be able to drive or hold the necessary licence to own such a company.

The court heard that Tinsley noticed the leak after making a school drop-off in Llanfyllin on January 17. He decided to drive the bus away from the school, as a substantial diesel spillage would have forced it to close for the day.

Helen Tench, prosecuting, said police were called to a one-vehicle road traffic collision and immediately found diesel on the road.

There was then a report of another collision, with a car ending up on its roof after the driver lost control as a result of the spillage.

Other road users complained about the road surface and police and the fire service reported that they had struggled to control their vehicles at the scene.

The school bus being driven by Tinsley was identified as the leaking vehicle and he immediately owned up to driving it, saying that he was taking it back to the depot to fix.

Ipsoregulated

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